Thanks for this, Jeff! A good metaphor—I hope the young people are listening to you!
Our exhaustion is the point, isn’t it. An ironclad democracy should be the bulwark that protects us from the hungry ghosts relentlessly clawing for power. But with the successful chiseling away of our institutions, we’re now wasting most of our energy defending our democracy under the onslaught instead of working to make people’s lives better. An adversary who values nothing but power (see Vladimir Putin, 1990-present) has nothing to lose by burning it all down.
What’s hardest for me is that this Russian-style disinformation campaign has gotten inside not just our systems of communication and government, but our heads. How do we reestablish a common epistemological framework, even if we win, when the same unsecured tech systems still have a direct line into people’s daily information feeds? And when one billionaire alone can flood the public sphere with more than 75 million dollars in “free speech” at will?
I am still writing my cards and letters, donating strategically, and praying our democracy can hold for this cycle at least, but it’s hard to to stay optimistic, especially as the young people I was counting on to save our democracy and our planet seem to be as vulnerable to disinformation and misdirection as our Faux zombie elders. I truly hope they will show up at the polls in multitudes and prove me wrong!
Thanks for this, Jeff! A good metaphor—I hope the young people are listening to you!
Our exhaustion is the point, isn’t it. An ironclad democracy should be the bulwark that protects us from the hungry ghosts relentlessly clawing for power. But with the successful chiseling away of our institutions, we’re now wasting most of our energy defending our democracy under the onslaught instead of working to make people’s lives better. An adversary who values nothing but power (see Vladimir Putin, 1990-present) has nothing to lose by burning it all down.
What’s hardest for me is that this Russian-style disinformation campaign has gotten inside not just our systems of communication and government, but our heads. How do we reestablish a common epistemological framework, even if we win, when the same unsecured tech systems still have a direct line into people’s daily information feeds? And when one billionaire alone can flood the public sphere with more than 75 million dollars in “free speech” at will?
I am still writing my cards and letters, donating strategically, and praying our democracy can hold for this cycle at least, but it’s hard to to stay optimistic, especially as the young people I was counting on to save our democracy and our planet seem to be as vulnerable to disinformation and misdirection as our Faux zombie elders. I truly hope they will show up at the polls in multitudes and prove me wrong!
Thanks Night Sky. I'm hoping too. Keep going!